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Topic: What is Bitcoin? (Read 6703 times)

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system introduced as open source software in 2009. The digital currency created and used in the system is alternatively referred to as a virtual currency, electronic money, or a cryptocurrency because cryptography is used to control its creation and transfer. Conventionally, the capitalized word "Bitcoin" refers to the technology and network, whereas lowercase "bitcoin" refers to the digital currency. The Bitcoin system is not controlled by a single entity, like a central bank, and this has led the US Treasury to call bitcoin a decentralized currency.

This video is very simple and it makes a lot of sense. But I am very new to the whole Bitcoin technology, so I am still having a hard time conceptualizing how all this works in the real world. Basically, I view bitcoins as play money. How do I turn this play money into real dollars?

I think people like me have difficulty accepting bitcoin. It is not something we can physically touch, like dollars and cents. The latest generation of young people definitely will not have a problem with this. They are born into a digital world, so digital currency is only common sense!

These are some great resources and even though I thought I knew a fair bit, I've still learnt something as I didn't know the difference between Bitcoin (the technology) and bitcoin (the currency). Thanks for keeping us up to date!

Yeah, thanks for the link from Khan Academy. I like their videos, they're very informative. And I didn't know that they've touched this topic. I wish I had more about crypto on economics, cause it's really interesting.